But as she spread her hands and pressed them together, signaling for silence, the audience immediately fell silent.

The blonde woman smiled and said, "Before the performance, let me introduce myself to you all. I'm the representative of the Exorcist's Pavilion, ***oria, which translates to "Gloria" in Chinese. Today, I'm going to show you a real-life 'Zhong Kui Catching Ghosts'. Although I've already caught this ghost, I'll let her out later. Then, watch carefully to see how I catch her again."

As soon as these words were spoken, the audience booed. Some were afraid, some were excited, and for a moment, the atmosphere became extremely strange.

I stood at the top, looking at the audience below, and then looked at the shining blonde woman standing on the stage, being stared at by more than 600 people with attention. A trace of hatred appeared at the corner of my mouth.

Next, Gloria slowly pulled out a golden gourd from her waist. I stared at it, my excitement and hatred growing. I almost lost control of my impulse and wanted to rush forward to grab the gourd. However, the swordsman behind me held me back. He said, "Do you see those people standing in the four corners of the pool?"

I subconsciously glanced at the corner of the swimming pool. I hadn't noticed it before, but now when I saw it, I gasped.

The swordsman said, "These people are all masters of the Exorcist Pavilion. Some of them can exorcise ghosts and demons, and manipulate ghosts to kill people. Some are hidden masters with extraordinary martial arts skills. Some can cast spells, some can poison, some can drive corpses, and some can summon spirits... In short, everyone who comes out of the Exorcist Pavilion has unique skills, and there are many who are like me."

I was surprised and asked, "How do they compare to you?"

The swordsman shook his head and said, "Among these people, I can't even be ranked. That's why from the beginning to the end, I have no name. They just call me 'Rurouni', which means wandering swordsman."

This surprised me even more. If even such a formidable swordsman couldn't make the list, how truly formidable were these other people? Furthermore, there were dozens of them in groups of three or four in all four corners of the pool, men and women, young and old, all dressed identically: simple black clothes and sunglasses. On the chests of their clothes were three interlocking Bagua patterns, presumably the symbol of the Exorcist's Pavilion.

"Are these people the 'they' you are talking about?" I asked curiously.

The swordsman nodded. "I used to be one of 'them', but not anymore."

"Can you tell me the relationship between Gloria and Xiaomo?" I looked at him sincerely.

The swordsman, without hesitation, nodded and said, "Yes. — You should know that the Yin-Yang boundary in our country is divided into two factions, the North and the South. The South is the Zhengyi League, and the North is the Ghost League. There have been many open and covert conflicts between the two sides. Back then, the Zhengyi League, under the pretext of "righteousness," rallied many other Taoist sects in an effort to jointly dismantle the sinister Ghost League. Seeing their weakness, the Ghost League leader appointed Su Xiaomo as the Ghost League's representative and took the madman to the overseas Exorcist Pavilion to preach and practice. Under the guise of preaching, they were actually negotiating interests with the Exorcist Pavilion's leader. Su Xiaomo's eloquence won the Exorcist Pavilion's admiration, and ultimately, the Exorcist Pavilion and the Ghost League formed a perfect alliance, mutually beneficial, and jointly confronted the "falsely righteous" Zhengyi League. This ultimately thwarted the Zhengyi League's plan to dismantle the Ghost League, and they ultimately made peace with the Ghost League."

"For several months after this incident, wherever Su Xiaomo appeared, she shone like a brilliant light. Men were captivated by her and fell in love with her, while women felt ashamed and jealous. Gloria, the most prestigious woman in the former Exorcist Pavilion, was incredibly confident in her charm. But when Su Xiaomo appeared, everything changed. All the men who had once followed her, willing to do anything for her, left her and followed Su Xiaomo. Su Xiaomo instantly became a target, the envy and hatred of countless women. Back then, she was still young and somewhat proud, and didn't see any harm in this. That day, Su Xiaomo completed her mission and was about to return to China. The Exorcist Pavilion Master asked Gloria and others to escort her. Unexpectedly, from that day on, this legendary woman, Su Xiaomo, would never appear again in the Yin-Yang Realm. It was as if... she had vanished overnight."